New 2010 sets, some details

[playmofire]

Well, the castles, the mansion and the villa theme hark back to the heyday of Playmobil, but the secret agents........well, I'm speechless!  I guess the new designers there and the people who give the go-ahead to what is produced just lack the mind of a child now and so regurgitate what other firms have done before.  I give the secret agents two years at most before it's end in Germany is announced.  Plus, I think the best years of Playmobil have, sadly, passed.

[BlueWizard]

"I think the best years of Playmobil have, sadly, passed" 
I'd have to agree somewhat with your on that, Playmofire... I'm glad I collected quite a bit starting 12 years ago.  Not much to get from this lot - but I just noticed the mad scientist's lab in the secret agent theme - now that is cool!  So maybe I'll be buying a set here and there from the various themes. 

I'm still hoping there will be an East Asian (Japanese/Chinese) theme out one day - maybe 2011/12?  The Torii gate in the zoo theme and the Mongolian sets suggest something might be in the works.

David

[Justindo]

I see some very useful parts in these new sets.  I’ll definitely be ordering from the parts department some of the huts from the zoo, some parts from the Mediterranean house to make a Roman villa, the desk from the advent calendar, the new bishop, and the market stalls from the other advent calendar, which could be used for both the Medieval and Roman themes.

I’m especially excited about some brand new items and item colors, namely the new grey chair and new color chest in 4866, the brand new helmets in 4867 and 4869, the new shield shape, the new arm armor in 4874, and all the new heraldry.  Although I’m not a huge Medieval cannon fan, the ones these new ones look historically correct.  I may end up getting both these castles, even though they don't look as customizable as the previous System X ones.

[Tiermann]

in some directions they are carrying along quite well. The recurrent zoo and wildlife themes must be popular since they keep doing them, and they are well done - even getting better. Unfortunately with shipping costs as they are these days I have to wait until they arrive in the US before I can get the animals and put them up at Animobil.
That hut in the new zoo set - there's the hut Martin was looking for. It's a bit tall but that could easily be changed for a new Mongol series. There are certainly enough Asian parts now to make hopes for a China vs. Mongols theme more realistic.

We may be overlooking the gadgetyness of the secret agent theme. It looks like most of the sets have things like detectors and so on, electronic gadgets to include in play. I think that's a good idea these days, it's just too bad that they had to choose that particular visual style to deploy them.

[Richard]

I heard the new castles are system X ... Does anybody have any conclusions on the matter?
G

Gus ...

Please look at the attachments. The little square holes look a lot like SystemX.

However, wonder what are those "rectangular" holes used for?

[Tiermann]

They look like the attachment points in some of the sets like the treehouse. It seems like they are not even keeping strictly to System X very well but are heading in the direction of structure parts not being interchangeable at all.

[Richard]

There are certainly enough Asian parts now to make hopes for a China vs. Mongols theme more realistic.

Unfortunately, Tim, it appears that Geobra has used their "faux Steck" system for their beautiful Asian zoo facade. (please see attachment)

The good news is that "faux Steck" can be modified by carefully filing the connector tabs so that the connections can be separated rather than becoming permanently affixed.

Edit: corrected typo.

[Richard]

Hmmm ...

You and I must be using a bit of ESP here, Tim ...

[Rasputin]

Hello

I too think that Playmobil has not "lost it" yet. I have plenty (well not quite) of stecks to keep me busy and what I now look for is the parts to these new castles. The other sets like the Classic House, Agents and Christmas themes are also used for parts for our other themes. The agents might just have to become a Christmas Present Theme for our youngest. I realize Playmobil has a challenging time with hands-on-toys in this digital era and that it is trying to tap into that market with the agents theme. good luck

I think this castle and its colors and all are actually better than the last system X castle. I just wish more of the building parts could be incorporated with stecks. I guess I really liked the Stecks system, I can never quite move on and will always fault Mr Branstater for not keeping it going. I know its is not a "construction" toy but part of imagination is being able to create things for yourself. I kind of see it slightly like if Lego decided to change their bricks.   

Rasputin "The Mad Monk"

[Indianna]

Many thanks to everyone who posted photos, both here and at Klickywelt!    
Special thanks to Michael (macgayver) for posting the link to Playmobil.de's new stuff page!   

Love, love, love the new Christmas items!   
The zoo and villa look very interesting.   
The new doll house, castles, and dragon knights don't appeal to me at all (though I really like the "falcon" color scheme of black/red/teal.) 
I think the "agent" stuff looks like fun - kids will enjoy it, I am sure. 
The foam airplanes will last about 3 days until they get stuck in a tree or chewed up by the dog! 
What is the deal with the transformer pickup truck that clips to the kid's belt?